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There are so many financial advisors in the Chicago area that finding the right one for you can be a time-consuming, overwhelming chore.
To help make things easier, we gathered, scored, sliced and diced data from thousands of SEC Form ADVs — the disclosure document that registered investment advisors must file with the Securities and Exchange Commission and state regulatory agencies — to create a list of the best financial advisors in Chicago and the surrounding suburbs, based on a long list of key metrics we think are most important to consumers.
Our full methodology is at the bottom of the page, but the bottom line is that the advisors that made our list are well-established firms that have low client-to-advisor ratios — which should mean more individualized attention for each client — a variety of fee structures so you can choose the best approach for your financial situation, and at least $250 million in assets under management, which we consider a sign of experience and stability. None of the advisors on our list charge commissions. (Being paid by commission can create conflicts of interest — we believe it is best if an advisor isn’t incentivized to select certain investments.)
» Not in Chicago? See more financial advisors we've rated highly
Top 10 financial advisors in Chicago
Financial Advisor | Headquarters | Assets Under Management |
|---|---|---|
The Mather Group, LLC | Chicago | $11,710,038,016 |
Leelyn Smith, LLC | Geneva | $722,181,779 |
Total Clarity Wealth Management, Inc. | St. Charles | $607,883,000 |
Capstone Financial Advisors Inc. | Downers Grove | $2,441,937,272 |
Urban Financial Advisory Corporation | Chicago | $1,275,389,164 |
Coyle | Glenview | $922,183,434 |
JMG Financial Group Ltd. | Downers Grove | $6,366,272,925 |
Hemsley Advisors, Ltd. | Chicago | $541,045,554 |
Essex LLC | Deer Park | $649,327,632 |
Inspirion Wealth Advisors, LLC | Libertyville | $1,237,818,941 |
🔍 A word about fees
Financial advisors often have different fee structures for different types of services. Typically, the fee for investment management is a percentage of your assets under management (AUM). That fee will often — but not always — include holistic financial planning advice as well as portfolio management. Some advisors also offer separate rates for financial planning or other work — often a flat or hourly fee. You might prefer that if you don't want investment management. The most important thing: Be sure you understand your all-in fee and what services are included in that fee before you engage with a financial advisor.
What’s in a fee?
Financial advisor fees can be confusing. Keep in mind that generally an advisor won’t charge all the fees listed below; fee models vary among advisors. This is intended to be an overview of fees you might encounter when researching an advisor.
Fee type
Commonly associated with
Typical cost
Assets under management (AUM)
Managing your portfolio of stocks, bonds and other investments.
0.25% to 0.50% annually for a robo-advisor; about 1% for a financial advisor.
Flat annual fee (retainer)
Special projects, such as analyzing whether to buy or sell your business. May also provide more access to the advisor. In some cases, advisors may substitute flat fees for AUM fees.
Typically $2,500 to $9,200.
Hourly fee
Special projects, such as helping create a financial plan for a specific situation, such as a divorce.
$200 to $400.
Per-plan fee
Creating a detailed, written comprehensive financial plan for a client.
Typically $3,000, but varies by service.
Transaction costs and expense ratios
Fees that trading platforms charge the advisor to use, or fees that mutual funds, ETFs and similar instruments charge.
Varies; expense ratios may range 0.05% to 0.75%.
Custodial fees
Fees that the custodian charges you to hold your assets.
May be around 0.10% to 0.15%, but varies by account size, asset type, transaction activity and custodian.
Bundles the firm’s investment management services and related custodial transaction costs together for one price.
Varies by account size and type.
Commission
Money earned from financial institutions for buying or selling certain products to clients.
3% to 6% of investment transaction amount.
To compile this information, we reviewed industry studies on average rates among financial advisors in 2024. Those studies included:
State of Financial Planning and Fees study from Envestnet, a company that develops software for the wealth management industry.
How Financial Planners Actually Do Financial Planning from Kitces.com.
We also reviewed fees charged by providers reviewed by the NerdWallet investing team.
More about these advisors
The Mather Group came out #1 of all the advisors we considered in Chicago. It provides portfolio management, family office services and financial planning services, including help with asset protection, business succession, retirement planning, employer-issued stock options, education planning, estate planning, charitable gifting, long-term care and other topics.
Fees range from 0.50% (accounts over $10 million) to 1.15% (on the first $2 million) of assets per year and are negotiable. The firm also offers financial planning services for a retainer. There is a $1 million account minimum. The firm also does tax planning and tax preparation.
Registered since: 2011
Main office address: 353 N. Clark Street Suite 2775, Chicago
Fee structures offered: Hourly, fixed, AUM
Leelyn Smith provides investment advisory services, financial planning and consulting services. Investment advisory wrap fees are negotiable and range from 0.60% (accounts $10 million and up) to 1.25% (on the first $50,000). Fixed fees for financial planning and consulting projects run from $500 to $10,000; hourly rates are $150 to $350.
Sometimes the advisor charges for financial planning based on a percentage of assets; in those cases, the fees are 0.10% to 0.40%, with a $5,000 minimum annual charge. Leelyn Smith has a $250,000 account minimum.
Registered since: 2018
Main office address: 10 N. Third Street, Geneva
Fee structures offered: Hourly, fixed, AUM
Total Clarity Wealth Management, Inc. offers wealth management services, including asset allocation and portfolio management. When we considered overall factors such as client mix, firm age, size and breadth of services, this firm had a higher overall score than most other financial advisory firms in Chicago. But one downside is that their fee schedules are relatively more expensive and complex than some of the other firms on this list.
Portfolio management wrap fees may be negotiable and range from 1.50% to 2.75% of assets per year depending on account type and size. Financial planning fees run $500 per hour or a fixed fee of $250 to $5,000 per year. There’s also a retainer program for clients who need help with special projects on an ongoing basis; that runs $250 to $50,000 per year. (The firm says the fee depends on the number of meetings, complexity of your situation, amount of research involved, services requested and staff resources.)
Registered since: 2007
Main office address: 525 Tyler Rd. Suite T, St. Charles
Fee structures offered: Hourly, fixed, AUM
Capstone Financial provides portfolio management services, financial planning, pension consulting and private fund investing advisory services. It also does tax preparation for an additional fee.
Portfolio management fees range 0.50% (for accounts over $6 million) to 1% (on the first $2 million) of assets per year. The account minimum is $1 million. Fixed-fee work generally costs $1,000 to $30,000, and hourly rates run $150 and $400. The minimum fee for financial planning is $6,000.
Registered since: 1999
Main office address: 2001 Butterfield Road Suite 1750, Downers Grove
Fee structures offered: Hourly, fixed, AUM
Urban Financial Advisory Corporation provides investment advisory and financial planning services. Investment advisory fees range from 0.20% (on accounts $10 million and up) to 0.40% (on the first $3 million) of assets per year. The minimum fee is $5,000.
There is no account minimum for financial planning services, but there is a $1 million minimum for investment advisory services. This firm charges an initial portfolio set-up fee of $1,000, which isn’t common among the advisors we analyzed for this list. Be sure to factor that in when you consider your total cost.
Registered since: 1994
Main office address: 221 N. La Salle St. Suite 764, Chicago
Fee structures offered: Hourly, fixed, AUM
Coyle provides asset management and wealth advisory services, as well as financial planning and investment consulting. Asset management fees range from 0.50% (accounts over $30 million) to 1.25% (for the first $2 million) of assets per year. Fees are negotiable on accounts over $50 million. The minimum annual fee is $10,000.
Financial assessments cost $5,000 to $25,000, depending on net worth, and consulting generally runs $2,500 to $50,000. This firm also charges an optional monthly subscription fee of $50 to $150, which is unusual compared to other firms on the list. The firm says clients get information regarding cash flow management, budgeting, insurance, executive compensation, tax, investments and other topics.
Registered since: 1982
Main office address: 2700 Patriot Blvd. Suite 440, Glenview
Fee structures offered: Hourly, fixed, AUM
This firm offers investment advisory services, financial advisory, investment consulting and retirement consulting services to individuals, trusts, business entities and other clients. The firm also does tax consulting and tax preparation.
Advisory fees range from 0.35% (on accounts over $20 million) to 1% (on the first $2 million). Fixed financial advisory and consulting fees run $10,000 to $50,000, or $100 to $600 per hour. Minimum fees are typically $20,000 per year. There is a $1 million account minimum for investment advisory services.
Registered since: 1985
Main office address: 2001 Butterfield Road, Suite 1400, Downers Grove
Fee structures offered: Hourly, fixed, AUM
This firm provides portfolio management, financial planning and consulting services. This firm stands out because it has relatively low fees compared to others on this list. Portfolio management fees range from a minimum of $300 per year (for accounts $50,000 and below) to 0.6% of assets per year and may be negotiable. Financial planning fees and consulting fees run $200 per hour.
Registered since: 1994
Main office address: 311 S. Wacker Drive Suite 1525, Chicago
Fee structures offered: Hourly, fixed, AUM
Essex, LLC primarily provides investment management, investment advisory services and portfolio management. Portfolio management fees range from 1.0% to 1.75% of assets per year. Hourly fees range from $100 to $750, depending on advisor type. There is no account minimum.
Registered since: 1997
Main office address: 21805 Field Parkway Suite 340, Deer Park
Fee structures offered: Hourly, fixed, AUM
Inspirion Wealth Advisors specializes in portfolio management and financial planning for individuals, families and other clients. The firm’s investment management wrap fees run up to 1.85% of assets under management per year. Hourly fees are $300. Flat fees range from $1,000 to $10,000. There is no account minimum.
Registered since: 2012
Main office address: 900 Technology Way Suite 130, Libertyville
Fee structures offered: Hourly, fixed, AUM
Last updated on February 26, 2026
Methodology
To compile this list of best financial advisors, NerdWallet started with data for thousands of RIAs from the SEC's regulatory records. We eliminated advisors that reported, among other things, any of the following in Part 1 of their Form ADVs:
Very recent initial registration with the SEC.
No website.
Principal offices outside the United States.
Organization under the laws of a non-U.S. country.
Registration as an internet adviser.
No employees who provide investment advisory functions.
No high-net-worth clients.
No non-high-net-worth clients.
Less than $100 million in assets under management.
A low proportion of assets under management attributable to individual clients.
No financial planning services and portfolio management for individuals and/or small businesses.
Primary engagement in another type of business.
Convictions, charges, pleas, revocations, suspensions, or similar enforcement actions from legal or regulatory authorities.
NerdWallet then applied a proprietary weighted scoring system to the remaining advisors in the city's designated marketing area. The 10 highest-scoring advisors appear on this list. Learn more about our methodology here.
Why trust NerdWallet
Our deep, independent analysis sorts through key details to find and evaluate the information investors want when choosing a financial advisor.
Thousands of registered investment advisors reviewed and rated by our expert Nerds.
More than 50 years of combined experience writing about finance and investing.
Extensive review of the features that matter most to average investors.
Dozens of objective ratings rubrics, and strict guidelines to maintain editorial integrity.
What to know about hiring a financial advisor
We've researched everything so that you can be sure you find the right advisor and don't overpay.